Poured from a bomber into two glasses. Extremely dark black color. Had a rich look to it. Big brown head. Not a lot of carbonation. Smelled like a heavy duty stout. Roasted barley with a jacked up alcohol presence. Taste was pretty good, but not what I expected. There was a lot of the bitter chocolate present, but not much else. What about all the other flavors you'd expect from an oatmeal stout? Plus, I found this beer to be a bit on the thin side for a stout. Didn't seem to have a lot of heartiness to it. Didn't blow me away, as I was thought I might be from a special release beer. I would be interested, though, as to what this beer would taste like if it were cellared for 12-16 months. Should have bought two, I guess. (730 characters)

I've had this on two separate occasions. Once I drank it a little colder than I would normally drink a stout. The second time I had it closer to 50-55 deg. and surprisingly I found that I liked it better very cold.

Pours nice and black and produces a nice chocolate head with a little coaxing

Cold, it's smell was subdued but enjoyable with chocolate, roasted malt and a little smoke. Warmer, all these smells were pushed out by a really dominant booziness.

With the taste, again, unless extremely cold, the rubbing alcohol burn is overpowering and detracts from the chocolate and malt. When the booze taste subsides, you still get the lingering hops and chocolate bitterness

Had on tap at JJ Brewskys along with my Old Viscosity, Saucerful of Merkin.I previusly rated the bottle and now the tap. It came to me in a pint glass, ddep brown in the light as I sat outside, very small tan head to this brew. Nose was hot, cocoa and oats. Taste was a bit smoother than the bottle but this beer is still to hot and it masks the great flavor hiding in it. Mouthfeel was chocolatey and too boozy for me. Almost a pain more than a pleasure to drink. (465 characters)

Awesome label, like usual. This pours jet black with a thick, but not really tall, deep caramel colored head. Beautiful color and head retention.It should be noted that the smell and taste are much better if this beer warms a little. When cold the smell is subtle and so is the taste. Once it has warmed up a little you get some nice sweet and roasted smells. There's a little bitter chocolate hint in the nose too.The taste is not very sweet as you would probably expect from the title. It is bitter, roasty and a little malty sweet. I liked this beer and it's definately a different take at a stout. Worth the try (618 characters)

Dark black color, though doesn't appear too viscous. Nice head of dark tan foam, settling into a frothy ring. Notes of chocolate, bourbon and vanilla in the nose initially, but after a few smells the alcohol fume gets more dominant, masking the other aromas.

There is a sharp alcohol presence in the taste also. The flavor is very dry and roasty, with a good, coffee-like, tannin bitterness (although not as bitter as the label might suggest). Nice toasted malt finish, but it all ends with a bit of astringence. Decent thickness, its a bit chewy at times, but smooth enough. Fine, sharp carbonation.

This chocolate beer is not overtly sweet like the Rogue Chocolate Stout or the Souther Tier Choklat, and for that I was glad. Unfortunately it was bit alcoholic and lacked enough balance for a high drinkablity. I am hoping that all it needs is some aging, and I do believe it will improve. I will try it again in at least 6 months... (938 characters)

Pours jet black with small, dark tan head. There's not a lot of carbonation, but the mouthfeel is still decent. The aroma wasn't what I expected: some chocolate, alcohol, roasted malts, and slight coffee, but nothing spectacular. Taste was similar. Black coffee finish. (333 characters)

Found this bottle at a local store in Columbus... not sure if they had this kept in the back, if it literally sat on a shelf for two years (which I doubt - no dust on the bottle), or if Stone is still distributing it... several places seem to be selling their 2008 RIS still too. Not really sure what's going on there.

Nevertheless I was excited when I found this for $6 a growler.

Poured thick, thick black. Viscous and oily. Small thick head of dark toffee that receded into intermittent lace. Pitch black, no hope of light, not even around the edges.

I really got no smell at all off this. If I nearly stuck my nose into the beer I could pick up the alcohol. And after warming I MAYBE got some dark fruit, but that is a bit of a strain to be honest. Not sure if it was the age, old hops, the oats/chocolate, or even the recipe, but I was not impressed here.

The flavor was immediately dry and bitter - here's the advertised chocolate. Roasty, boozy for under 10%, lots of burnt toast. As it warmed it got sweeter and I could start to pick up more chocolate flavor and less bitterness. The booze stayed throughout.

Mouthfeel is thick and semi-chewy. The alcohol prickles the tip of the tongue and is very warming, but doesn't burn so I didn't mind too much. The warmer it got the more silky and smooth it drank. Dry and without much carbonation, as I'd expect.

I had no problem drinking most of the bomber (my wife sampled a little of it), but I wouldn't want a second one in a night. Overall a good find, I might buy some more if there's any left next time I'm beer shopping. (1,584 characters)

Served in 16oz goblet. Poured black, no light shows through, with a thick, medium brown head that dissipated quickly and left lots of sticky lacing.

A pleasant blend of aromas on the nose, coffee, roasted malt and certain earthiness I couldn't quite place being most noticeable. The flavors followed the aromas closely, with the coffee being most upfront, then the rest of tastes rolling across the tongue. No noticeable chocolate flavors remain, and there is just a minimum of hoppiness.

The body and drinkability were average for a big stout. Full body that coats the tongue and lingers. Nicely drinkable for a big beer, I can't see having more than one at a sitting though, worth trying now that it's sat a year. If I remember correctly, I liked this beer better when it was fresh. Certainly worth trying again if you see it. (830 characters)

Smooth to drink but bitterness stays a bit too long. The heaviness also detracts from it's drinkability. This ale has some interesting characteristics but there are many imperial stouts that I'd pick far before it. (497 characters)

Picked this up at Gordon's in Waltham. I was VERY excited to try it! The beer poured a very deep brown/black, relatively no light passes through, with a large brown creamy, yet rocky head. The scent is of heavy roasted malts, chocolate, oatmeal and maybe even some espresso. The ABV is 9.20 and you can smell the alcohol clearly. I undestand it is imperial but most imperials that I have had lately still mask the taste of the alcohol a bit better. Taste was subtle at first but then the chocolate and oatmeal kicks in halfway down. The ABV was overpowering in my opinion...because of that, I found it to be not well balanced. I thought it masked a lot of great flavor. The mouthfeel was decent. Overall, I think less alcohol would have made this a great beer. (760 characters)

Pulled the cap off this vintage bottle and only had a tiny amount of gas and hiss that leaked out of the bomber. I poured this into my DFH bubbled pint glass straight on trying to entice a nice head. I was left with a one finger thick dark mocha almost chocolate colored head that faded away to almost nothing. This baby is as black as used motor oil with no light passing through and no yeast chunks floating around. On the swirl the viscosity appears to be pretty thick.

Reviewed on 7/22/08. Bottle. Pours black with a small dark tan head that dissipates quickly. Aroma of bitter hops. lots of bitter chocolate, vanilla, and rich roasted malt. Flavor is rather bitter! (as advertised). Sweet, rich oatmeal malt, alcohol, slight slight bitter chocolate. I was really excited about this beer but it proved to be a disappointment. Much too heavy and alcoholic for my liking. This needs a bit of age I think. Not as much chocolate as I'd prefer and the sweetness/alcohol richness does obliterate some of the other flavors. Fun to try, but I don't think I'll purchase again (unless it's aged perhaps).7/4/8/3/14 (3.6/5) (644 characters)

I've had this from 22 oz. bombers (one that has met its fate with the ceramic tile of the kitchen floor...yes I'm ashamed)...But I thought that it would be a better/more fair rating from a tap...

Poured into the glass (both from the tap and bottle), as perfect as a glass of motor oil...(as many other posts have stated)...I would say like New Jersey Lake Sludge (I can't wait for the replies on that one...I've looked for my own snipes (as a kid) thank you very much...)...

The taste mellows out while the pour gets warmer, much like the bottle.

The alcohol taste is more apparent as it warms..., but I would not say that it has such an "oatmeal taste", I was expecting more of a Rogue Chocolate Stout meets/ Sammy Smith's...but for all around it was good.

...It definitely has its own character and holds up on its own...I am interested to see how this brew ages...(like other posts have stated).

Poured from 22oz bomber purchased from Texas Liquor. Poured into a Duvel snifter, pours a jet black with big foamy brown head with nice lacing for such high alcohol content. Smell is roasted malt with plenty of chocolate and coffee aromas a touch of acetone on the finish. Taste was a little messy with such a strong hot alcohol flavor that got even stronger as my beer warmed, the strong bitterness seemed less from the chocolate and more from the burnt roasted malt finish. However the oatmeal did leave a nice creaminess to both the flavor and mouthfeel. The mouthfeel is full body with a nice for mentioned creaminess and light carbonation level. The chocolate and oatmeal really addd to the beer but the unability to mask the alcohol really detracts from it. I think that a little aging will do wonders for this beer but still a worthy beer right now. (856 characters)

S: Pretty faint aroma; I can definitely tell this is an oatmeal stout though- a hint of that tangy oatmeal flavor is present. Some light chocolate malts as well. Not a bad smell, but its weakness brings the rating down a bit.

T: Oatmeal flavor is pretty prominent once again, especially to start things off, before giving way to a very bitter, dark chocolate flavor. I hate to describe this beer primarily with characteristics included in its name, but the name is extremely appropriate. There's a big hoppy element to the bitterness; I'm picking up a good number of piny/resinous flavors on the finish.

M: Medium-thick body with light carbonation; this is smooth, thick, and creamy, just like an imperial stout ought to be to maximize its flavor. Very enjoyable.

O: This beer is better than the sum of its parts; I found my glass running low pretty quickly. I'm happy that I have another bottle of this, especially since it was a limited release. (1,200 characters)

Pours dark, dark brown out of the bottle and settles in as a nice pitch black in the glass. Head is dense and mocha-colored and fades fairly quickly leaving only a trace of lacing. Aroma is of dark chocolate and burnt/roasted malts. There are also some dark fruits and alcohol burn in the nose as well. Taste is big on the sweet malts as well with the significant bitterness of the baker's chocolate. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and has a little carbonation on top of the bitterness of the chocolate. This is a decent, but quite bitter, stout and the flavors are are a little too abrasive for me. This one could use some time to bring the flavors together. (690 characters)

Opaque black liquid, topped by a thin tan head. Head holds up okay, no lacing on the glass.

I don't really get chocolate in the nose, beyond what you would normally expect from a big stout. Otherwise inviting, with notes of roasted coffee, subtle bits of fruit, and hints of alcohol.

Not too different from what was hinted at in the nose. Notes of coffee, chocolate & roast. Most of the bitterness comes from the roast flavours. Somewhat smooth, medium-full bodied. Moderate carbonation. Not bad by any stretch, but I for one was expecting more out of this. (607 characters)

Im not impressed with this years anniversary beer. The 10th is my favorite beer all time maybe. this was a huge let down.

comes in a large bottle with the patented gargoyle on the front of course, but there is no promotion for the beer being an anniversary beer... strange. Maybe even stone doesn't think it to be worthy. In fact I sent the beer back thinking it was a mistake and then was shown the tiny little 12 on the back of the bottle.

that said...

smells like an oatmeal stout which some wood, and dark chocolate

Tastes sort of like their russian imperial but a little more bitter. Sweet and dark chocolate notes overwhelm the palate.

I didn't even finish my bottle... I didn't even finish a glass... I split the bottle with a friend and he didn't finish either. Maybe stone 12th anniversary bitter chocolate oatmeal stout is just not for me. Maybe that title is a mouthful just like the beer. (906 characters)